Family Program | STEAM EXPLORATION: BIOART AND GENETICS

Drop-in at the museum on the second Saturday of each month for hands-on family activities!  

In April, explore genetics and design with community biolab Genspace and artist and biohacker Heather Dewey-Hagborg! Learn about how traits can be passed down through generations with a portrait drawing activity. Extract the DNA of a strawberry, check out cells under a microscope, and explore a variety of biomaterials.  

Family drop-in activities are designed for youth ages 5–12 and their adult guardian/caregivers. Family programs are included in the price of museum admission, and youth 18 and under are always free. 

Visit “Is a Biobank a Home?” by Heather Dewey-Hagborg in the exhibition Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial and explore the exhibition with our Kids Gallery Guide available on site. 

Accessibility & What to Expect 

• Format: This is a drop-in style workshop for youth ages 5-12 and their adult guardian/family. You will be guided by a museum educator who will help you to make a design. You can drop in at any time and stay as long as you like. All materials will be provided. Adults must stay with their youth during the activity and are encouraged to participate. Registration is not required, but first come, first seated.  

• About the space: This program will take place in the Lecture Room and the Design Studio on the ground floor of the museum. It is fully wheelchair accessible. There will be group seating at tables. There is an accessible restroom on the ground floor. Read more about accessibility at Cooper Hewitt. 

• Accommodations: If we can provide services to support your participation, email us at CHEducation@si.edu or let us know when you register. Please make your request as far in advance as possible—preferably at least ten days before the program date. 

ABOUT THE GUEST DESIGNER 

Dr. Heather Dewey-Hagborg is a New York-based artist and biohacker who is interested in art as research and technological critique. Her controversial biopolitical art practice includes the project Stranger Visions in which she created portrait sculptures from analyses of genetic material (hair, cigarette butts, chewed up gum) collected in public places.

For the Triennial, Dewey-Hagborg considers the hidden homes of people’s DNA while searching for her own biological specimens. Her installation in three works addresses how access to biodata is designed and experienced, addressing the potential lives of DNA at the intersection of surveillance, cutting-edge science, privacy, and legal and ethical concerns. 

Dewey-Hagborg has shown work internationally at events and venues including the World Economic Forum, the Daejeon Biennale, the Guangzhou Triennial, and the Shenzhen Urbanism and Architecture Biennale, Transmediale, the Walker Center for Contemporary Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and PS1 MoMA. Her work is held in public collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Victoria and Albert Museum, SFMoMA, among others, and has been widely discussed in the media, from the New York Times and the BBC to Art Forum and Wired. 

Dewey-Hagborg has a PhD in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is an Artist-in-Residence at the Exploratorium, and is an affiliate of Data & Society. She is a founding board member of Digital DNA, a European Research Council funded project investigating the changing relationships between digital technologies, DNA, and evidence. 

ABOUT GENSPACE 

Genspace is the world’s first community biology lab — a place where people of all backgrounds can learn, create, and grow with the life sciences.

Since 2009, Genspace has served the greater New York area by providing hands-on STEAM education programs for youth and adults, cultural and outreach events for the public, and a membership program to support New York’s community of creatives, researchers, and entrepreneurs. Our programs demystify scientific processes, provide a platform for innovation, and cultivate the next generation of life sciences leaders in emerging global technologies, such as biotechnology, neuroscience, epidemiology, genomics, and many more.